AKCAKALE, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish artillery hit targets inside Syria on Wednesday after a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory killed five Turkish civilians, while NATO called for an immediate end to Syria's "aggressive acts".
In the most serious cross-border escalation of the 18-month uprising in Syria, Turkey hit back at what it called "the last straw" when a mortar hit a residential neighborhood of the southern border town of Akcakale.

NATO said it stood by member-nation Turkey and urged Syria to put an end to "flagrant violations of international law".

The U.S.-led Western military alliance held an urgent late-night meeting in Brussels to discuss the matter and later on Tuesday in New York, Turkey asked the U.N. Security Council to take the "necessary action" to stop Syrian aggression.

In a letter to the president of the 15-nation Security Council, Turkish U.N. Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan called the firing of the mortar bomb "a flagrant violation of international law as well as a breach of international peace and security."

There were no immediate details of the Turkish strikes against Syria, nor was it clear who had fired the mortar into Turkish territory, but security sources said Turkey was increasing the number of troops along its border.

"Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement.

"Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security."

Syria said it was investigating the source of the mortar bomb and urged restraint. Information Minister Omran Zoabi conveyed his condolences to the Turkish people, saying his country respected the sovereignty of neighboring countries.

Turkey's parliament was due to vote on Thursday on extending a five-year-old authorization for its military to carry out cross-border operations, an agreement originally intended to allow strikes on Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq.

That vote would now be extended to include operations in Syria, a ruling party deputy told Turkish television.

Residents of Akcakale gathered outside the local mayor's office, afraid to return to their homes as the dull thud of distant artillery fire rumbled across the town.

"We haven't been able to sleep in our own homes for 15 days, we had to sleep in our relatives' houses further away from the border because it's not safe down there," said shopkeeper Hadi Celik, 42, a father of five who was among the crowd outside the mayor's office.

Washington sees Turkey as a pivotal player in backing Syria's opposition and planning for the post-Assad era. The White House said on Wednesday it stood by "our Turkish ally". But Ankara has found itself increasingly isolated and frustrated by a lack of international consensus on how to end the conflict.

Erdogan long cultivated good relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but became a harsh critic after Syria's popular revolt began last year, accusing him of creating a "terrorist state". Erdogan has allowed Syrian rebels to organize on Turkish soil and pushed for a foreign-protected safe zone inside Syria.

On Monday, Syria's foreign minister accused Turkey, the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar of arming and funding rebels intent on toppling Assad, a charge Ankara has repeatedly denied.

They're probably just going to handle this like they handle Iraq: make the occasional cross-border raid to ensure security in Turkey itself, to kill Kurds and to send a message to Syria itself. That message being: do it again and we'll crush you. Which they could easily do._________________attitude of a street punk, only cutting selected words out of context to get onself excuse to let one's dirty mouth loose

90% chance it will not go beyond Turkey engaging in border defense and savagely hammering at ANYTHING that endangers their border, because fuck if they want to have anything to do with the shitpile that is syria. Ofc if groups like NATO make it seem beneficial to their image to participate in liberation shit, they may just go for it.

My first thought was, "check again come January." Then it occurred to me: a new war would allow Congressional Republicans to both continue to stall budget talks and bypass sequestration. Huh._________________“Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation”
yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation.

Of all the news I read, there is still none that convincingly explains how the Turks knew in the first place.

After all it looks like it, from Hurryet, was radar' spares parts. I'm not discussing the legality of this transport, treaties that runs those issues sometime are creatively interpretated.

Aside the "how did they know in the first place", the "Who' interests are best served by raising tension between Syria and Turkey" question comes to mind too. For once, Russia comes at the bottom of the list, the black sea is vital for it. Turkey doesn't need a nearby ennemy either if it still want to be a local power. I could see Damas' regime trying to unite some tribes under it's flag, along with the allawi clans, as nationalism works everywhere, but somehow it feels a little bit late for that.

There is always the "après moi le déluge" option. Coming from a power that actually has chemical weapons this time and is in the process of loosing it's grasp on his country, that doesn't bode well.